Because It's You
by mashfan4life
Summary: Fairy Tail Academy is a school for young aspiring mages. Amidst the magic, the craziness and friends who care almost to much, can love take shape between two best friends who swear they hate each other's guts? Natsu x Gray


**disclaimer: don't own**

Natsu was currently in a school bus on his way to Fairy Tail Academy with Erza, Lucy and Gray.

The red head groaned, resting his head against the cool window.

School buses were not his forte. In fact, anything that moved was a nightmare.

"Natsu, are you sure your alright? Do want me to help you?" asked Erza in a sweet voice that didn't fool Natsu.

Sure, she sounded innocent and helpful but Natsu knew only too well what his friend's cure for motion sickness was.

"N-no I'm fine. But thanks," he said in a weak voice, backing away as far as possible from her on the seat they were sharing.

It was true that being unconscious made traveling a lot easier but being punched in the stomach was never very tempting.

Natsu quickly brought his hand up to his mouth as they rolled over a pot hole. Natsu heard the person sitting behind him snicker.

"Yes Erza, please help him," said Gray in a mocking tone. "It's easier to be around him when he's out cold."

"Sh-Shut up," Natsu mumbled half heartedly around his hand.

Gray snickered again. "You're so lame Natsu," Gray taunted. "It's only a bus."

"Leave him alone Gray," Lucy scolded, slapping him in the head just as Natsu was about to retort.

How these four were friends was beyond most people. It was somewhat understandable how Lucy, being generally kind hearted, managed to get along with the others. The other three were the real mystery. Natsu and Gray were constantly bickering if not knocking the daylights out of each other and both the boys were terrified of Erza.

The four friends were silent now, except for Natsu's somewhat labored breathing. Suddenly Lucy was grabbed and pulled over to the seat across from hers. Erza looked around at the sound of Lucy's surprised gasp to see the rather large guy who had kidnapped her friend.

The four of them were the only ones from Fairy Tail that took this bus to school. The other students usually tried to steer clear of the mages because they, especially Erza and Gray, were rather intimidating. To be fair, in regular circumstances Natsu could be intimidating as well but, in view of the current state of events, he was as intimidating as road kill. Arguably, being like road kill could be a repellant in its own way but that's aside from things.

This big buffoon regularly tried his luck on Lucy. Every time it ended in the same way, the buffoon would end up completely incapacitated in the back of the bus, often unconscious and slightly smoking or shivering uncontrolably. Once, he'd even been stupid enough to make a pass at Erza but that was a mistake he was not likely to repeat.

"Hey there gorgeous. Why don't you spend the bus ride with me today?" the idiot ventured.

"Gray, HELP! He's harassing me again!" she cried.

"I don't feel like it today," he replied, irritated about being slapped. "Why don't you get Natsu to help you?"

"Because Natsu is useless!" she cried.

Natsu mumbled something incoherent, glaring slightly in Lucy's direction. He then doubled over as the bus hit yet another pot hole, reinforcing her point.

"I'm sure you recent that," Erza told him patting his head uncharacteristically, trying her best to stay out of the fight that was sure to follow. "She's right though."

Natsu turned away, not daring to scowl at her althought he was thinking of it.

Ever since the jerk had tried his hand at hitting on Erza, the friends had agreed that she shouldn't be allowed to deal with him anymore. She had left him in such a critical state that time, they had deemed it safer to keep her away from him.

"Fine," said Gray with his arms crossed, pouting slightly. "Put her down," he said half heartedly, not even bothering to glare.

"That's not going to do anything!" complained Lucy, struggling in her captors arms.

Just as Gray was about to try harder, the bus pulled up to Fairy Tail.

"It stopped," said Natsu, getting up completely recovered from his recent bout of motion sickness. The only traces of his recent struggle were the few drops of sweat still remaining on his face. He was now glaring furiously. He walked over to the guy and grabbed his shirt.

"Let go of her now and I may not hurt you," he said darkly.

Th bigger boy released Lucy immediately wearing a terrified expression. All four friends thought he should have learned by now not to mess with them. Natsu, still holiding the boy's shirt narrowed his eyes before shoving the boy against the window, singeing his hair slightly.

The three others followed Natsu out of the bus, each glaring as they walked past the offender.

"How come you got to deal with him?" Gray whined once the bus was gone, shoving Natsu in the process.

"Because you were too slow and I'm stronger," said Natsu.

"Oh ya, well I'm smarter than you, bird brain," Gray snarled, suddenly furious at the red head.

"We'll see how smart you are after your head has been smashed in by my fist!" growled Natsu.

"Are you threatning me, punk?" glared Gray.

"You bet your ass I am," Natsu shot back.

Gray was positioning himself, his arms extended in front of him. Natsu arm was already flaming. Both boys were glaring at each other furiously.

"We'll see how much damage you can do with my ice spear up your-"

"Boys," Erza cautioned, narrowing her eyes.

The boys both sweat dropped and had their arms around the other's shoulder within second.

"Ahaha, just having a friendly little discussion," Gray babbled.

"Aye," said Natsu.

They were both grinning hugely, their eyes twinkling with tears of fright.

"That's better," Erza said, walking past them with Lucy and into the school.

The boys turned back towards each other, shooting lightning bolts with their eyes but remaing silent. They both walked tensily to class, their fists balled at their sides. When they entered the class room, they each took their assigned seats which, unfortunately, were right next to each other.

Gray busied himself taking out his books, trying to keep his mind away from mage sitting next to him and the various ways he had cooked up to kill him. He was doing pretty well too until, right when the teacher was explaining why light conjuring charms could be dangerous, he felt something burn his neck.

He turned around angrily just in time to see Natsu flicking another spark at him, a cocky grin on his face.

Gray sighed and froze the spark before it reached him and turned his attention back to the teacher.

Natsu frowned and grudgingly opened his book to the page the teacher had just mentionned.

Gray may have looked calm but inside he was rageing. It didn't really make sense to him that Natsu could get him so riled up with so little but it had always been like that with them, this love-hate relationship that they held on to. While it appeared that they couldn't stand even the sight of the other, the truth was that they always took some consolation at the fact that the other was still there. They were best friends and always together even if no one could annoy them quite so much as the other managed.

Natsu absently tapped his pencil against the desk as he thought.

"Will you stop that!" Gray whisper growled.

Natsu looked up surprised and grinned at the scowl Gray was wearing.

"Why? Is it annoying you?" he whisper taunted, making more of show of his tapping.

"I meant stop breathing! Drop dead!" Gray responded angrily, his volume rising the slightest bit.

"_You_ drop dead!" Natsu growled.

"Original," Gray said, rolling his eyes and pointedly ignoring Natsu once more.

Natsu stuck his tongue out at him.

Erza turned around from her seat in front of them.

"Will you two shut up! You're making it hard to concentrate.

"He started it," Gray told her, causing Lucy to turn around as well.

"Oh please, don't be such a baby and own up, Gray," she sighed.

"Own up for what? He started it!" Gray said a little too loudly, earning a collective shush from the rest of the class.

Natsu snickered.

"See what you're doing! You're making me look bad!" he whispered agressively to Natsu.

"You don't need me to do that. You do a pretty good job of it yourself," Natsu growled. "Why do you always blame me for everything!"

"Because it's always your fault!" Gray shouted standing up.

"My fault! Maybe it is _sometimes_ but I don't see how you manage to blame _me _when _you_ walk around naked!" Natsu argued, getting up as well.

"Guys, calm down," Elfman said coming over to separate them.

"You stay out of it!" the said in unison, punching him across the room.

Erza stood up and glared at them.

"Boys,"she said menacingly as they were staring each other down.

"What?!" they shouted and gulped when they realized who they had shouted at.

"Sorry?!" they said hesitanly, sitting back down at their desks.

The teacher sighed and put her glasses down on the desk. She was too used to these scenes to interrupt anymore. Gray and Natsu were a lot to handle, and not only because of their constant fighting. They also happened to be the schools top pranksters.

Which is why it wasn't entirely surprising that, when Lucy pencil case exploded moments later, covering her in pink goop, they turned to each other, high fived and started laughing.

"That was too good!" Natsu cried.

"Yeah! That worked perfectly!" Gray said, clutching his stomach.

The class stared at them incredilous.

"Was… the fight… just a distraction?"Erza asked, looking deflated.

"Maybe,"Natsu told her.

"Maybe not," Gray completed.

"I'M SOO GOING TO KILL YOU!" Lucy fumed.

"Uh oh!," the boys laughed, running out of class, Lucy hot on their trail.

Life at Fairy Tail Academy…. was never boring.

* * *

a/n: so there's the first chapter. It's more of an introduction than anything else. I honestly don't really know where I'm going with this so updates might be pretty slow. Help me out by reviewing and I'm even willing to take request as for what happens.


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